


Soulmates are discovered instead of found, except when they’re not

by yellowhalcyon



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, M/M, Mentioned Han Solo/Leia Organa, Mentioned Poe Dameron's Parents, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmates, Stormpilot, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, and then fluff again, hopefully, i haven't read the novalisation yet so i don't know how poe canonly makes it back home
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-08
Updated: 2016-01-08
Packaged: 2018-05-12 15:48:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5671483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yellowhalcyon/pseuds/yellowhalcyon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Poe Dameron had never believed in soulmates. And then he discovered Finn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Soulmates are discovered instead of found, except when they’re not

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Akiramayzeevia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiramayzeevia/gifts).



> It's amusing cos this was only gonna be 1,500 word fanfic and then it became longer than my two Stucky one shots. LOL
> 
> I just love the idea of Poe being smitten for Finn and just accepting it. Like, it WILL hurt a lot later but, in the beginning, he's just happy to be around him.
> 
> You can read this while listening to:
> 
> 1\. Technicolour Beat by Oh Wonder  
> 2\. Now and Again by Tor Miller  
> 3\. America by XYLØ
> 
> Because those are my Stormpilot songs. (But also: I Found (Acoustic) by Amber Run is a good soulmate song, in general)

Poe Dameron had never believed in soulmates. Of all else in his life, this was the one thing he was positively certain. Destiny, on the other hand, now that was one of life’s mysteries and something he knew well enough to leave alone. And he definitely believed in _love_ and the power of such an emotion. But the notion of _soulmates_? No evidence had ever risen to the contrary. He was 32 now and Poe had seen all manner of relationships rise and fall around him. Yet never had he witnessed a couple, or group, of lovers join together and instantly establish some kind of “special bond,” like a key that finally finds the correct lock. Or a bolt finally sliding into the right place. Nothing like that at all.

From a young age, Poe saw the way his parents acted when not around each other. His Father was faithful and devoted – compared to most male companions. His Mother would accept nothing less, of course. But Poe had been small and easy to forget. He’d noticed, on more than one occasion, the twinkle in his Father’s eye that appeared whenever he spoke to a beautiful person, only for it to disappear in the blink of an eye the moment Poe was spotted. Poe took even more notice of it when he realised his Mother lacked the same twinkle when she too spoke to such people. However, instead, he discovered her desire for freedom came in a different form. When they were tired and his Mother believed Poe to already be asleep, through squinted eyes, he’d saw her face unexpectedly fall and her frame deflate against her spine like the air leaving a wrinkled balloon.

There was no denying, for a small moment, his Father had longed to be free, able to start over again with someone new, maybe even somewhere new, and there was no ignoring that when she’d been alone his Mother had longed for the freedom of youth and blissful ignorance to be upon her body and life once again. If his parents were truly soulmates, as they seemingly believed, then why would fractures like this exist, where water could leak into and freeze and crack them apart? If they were _meant to be_ , why would there be opportunities to make them not?

At 16, when he flew for the first time, he thought he’d felt something similar to what soulmate should feel like. So similar in fact, in that moment he almost thought of going back on his belief. It was nothing short of an overflowing exhilaration. A rush of… _something_ strong and pure ran through his system like fresh batteries boosting a device back up to full power. Poe had never felt anything like it before in his life. It just made everything about his body feel _right_ , this was where he was meant to be, but much more than that. It ran deeper than just skin and muscle, this was from somewhere inside his bones, in his soul.

However, piloting was hard, it involved time and commitment to maintain or else it would diminish to dust. Poe always got the impression that soulmates were something _set_ , permanent at a push, unfading regardless of time or distance at the least. Maybe he’d been been viewing it all the wrong way.

Poe joined the Resistance not long after the formation of the First Order. It was mostly just rumours back then, the odd dark murmurs here and there, but Poe wanted to push back nonetheless. There, he had his lifetime wish granted of working alongside General Leia Organa. Having her notice him and even specifically appreciate his work towards the Resistance was a fantastic feeling but it was clearly a feeling of respect, not love. He laboured fiercely under her guidance, as did they all, and over time other matters took up the space in his head usually reserved for thoughts about paramours and soulmates.

It took several tiring months to acquire the information of the map that would lead them to Luke Skywalker. Poe had actually been surprised at how unsurprised he was when General Organa picked him to retrieve it. He was the best pilot in the galaxy after all. Poe made his way to Jakku full of nerves but also hope, the first time in a long time, because this would be the first step forward after what seemed to be nothing but dead ends.

It didn’t take long for the First Order to arrive and then Poe was being whisked abroad Star Destroyer, anguish at the back of his throat from watching the village who took him in get slaughtered. However, BB-8 was safe with the map, so Poe’s hope didn’t extinguish, even as he realised how they’d greatly underestimated the size of power of the First Order. It didn’t even dwindle when Kylo Ren made him experience a pain he hadn’t thought was possible, his mind prodded and pocked about to allow this masked maniac access to the information he desired.

At the end of it all, Poe was exhausted and he waited patiently in his restraining chair for the next Stormtrooper to arrive and take him away for his probable death. And sure enough here they came now, declaring that Kylo Ren wanted to see Poe immediately. That bastard had already fucked up Poe’s mind, now he wanted to take his life personally.

Except, the next thing Poe knew he was being told to turn left and then abruptly shoved into a gap in the wall.

 _Who was this person?_ Poe thought as they stuffed themselves into the space afterwards and came right up into Poe’s personal bubble. Because Poe was very certain he wasn’t meant to have been taken here, at least not under Kylo Ren’s order.

The person acted quickly not wasting a second to tell Poe this was a rescue, much faster than Poe could process to be honest, and asking him whether he could fly a T.I.E. Fighter. Overcome with fresh hope, Poe shook his head, trying to his clear thoughts and adjust to the present situation. The person failed to take this as a miscommunication, thankfully, only removing their helmet and asking the same questions again, this time with more urgency.

And that was when everything changed.

Poe couldn’t quite describe the feeling washing over him, like warm honey soothing a dire sore throat, as he stared at this man’s face. Poe had never been here before. Perhaps it was the torture finally catching up to him, a screw pulled loose through Kylo Ren’s efforts. There must have been some reason why this man affected him so.

Because even though, through everything he was telling Poe, this man was a thoroughbred Stormtrooper, who had suddenly decided to defect on this random moment… because despite all that Poe _trusted_ him.

Every memory in his head was screaming at him that his instincts were broken. _Come on, this was so obviously a trap, a cruel trick set up by one of Kylo Ren’s mind games_ , but Poe couldn’t feel it. In fact, everything inside of him felt _okay_ (considering the circumstances).

Poe told this boy he could fly anything and the brightest smile he’d ever seen spread across his face. Poe was taken aback a little, almost lost his breath even. _So strange_.

Poe then asked the man why he was helping him – he had to ask – and when the man replied with ‘because it’s the right thing to do,’ Poe believed him.

They were really going to do this and, for Poe, everything just felt _okay_.

In the next few minutes they were back inside the main hanger and eyeing up their potential get-away ship. Irritation sprouted when the boy started insisting he stay calm, but when Poe announced he already was, the defecting Stormtrooper told him he was saying it to himself. That warmed Poe’s heart a tiny bit. Instead of filling him with should-be doubt, he felt warmth.

At the right moment, they darted inside a T.I.E. Fighter and, after a dodgy start, shot off into space. Here Poe _had_ been before, he knew they wouldn’t be going anywhere soon unless they took out the guns located on the belly of the ship. This man took to shooting with more enthusiasm Poe had originally expected. He really was sure about this defecting, huh?

It only became apparently to Poe that at this point he didn’t even know the boy’s name. He asked and should have expected the response he got. His name had _numbers_ in it almost like cattle, or something.

FN-2187.

Poe hadn’t even heard correctly it the first time the boy spoke. The boy then said it was given to him by the First Order. It shouldn’t have surprised Poe the First Order could treat someone so human with such insensitivity but this one was different. Poe wondered if he could offer an alternative. If this man truly wanted to be free of the First Order, then he deserved a name that wasn’t theirs.

‘Finn. I’m gonna call you Finn. Is that alright?’

‘Finn… yeah. Finn. I like that. I like that.’

In that exact moment Poe’s mind finally managed to catch up with him and he couldn’t believe what it was proposing. This man; this wonderful, exciting man who’d swept in from basically nowhere of his completely own accord and chosen to save a total stranger for the sole reason that it was _the right thing to do_ , especially when what that _right thing to do_ was would have been told to him by the First Order; this man who’d managed to capture Poe’s trust and hope before he even knew it was on offer, this man was his _soulmate_.

How could that be possible when Poe didn’t believe in such nonsense, right?

And yet his soul appeared to have lit up with a strong sense of familiarity, like how an old friend’s smile might do when they recognise you in a bar with a sweet ‘ _oh hello, it’s you, where have you been all this time?_ ’

He’d found his soulmate where they weren’t supposed to be.

Poe Dameron wouldn’t say he was in love, not over only such a short span of time, don’t be ridiculous. But even so, Finn had instantly become very important to him. Poe couldn’t explain why because maybe it didn’t need an explanation for him to feel the way he did. It just felt _right_. Not the kind of _right_ Poe had envisioned or pondered on, late at night while his bed was being warmed by another lover. No, this _right_ was softer and _warm_. It soothed Poe’s aches and calmed his soul. Even with death and chaos all around them, in that tiny T.I.E. Fighter cockpit, Poe felt content to be in Finn’s company. If he was going to do this with anyone he was glad it was with him.

Then suddenly their ship had been hit and they were hurtling towards the planet below.

Not before Poe had gotten to explain his reasons for returning. White and orange BB-8. Poe needed to find the faithful droid and return the lost map to General Organa. It was his mission after all. Missions came above all else, even soulmates.

He’d blacked out a few times, while tumbling to the planet’s surface, and when Poe finally awoke for good, he could see they’d crashed in the middle of a desert, surrounded by sand and heat from the scorching Sun above, blazing down upon them.

Correction: blazing down on _just_ him. Finn was nowhere in sight.

_What?_

He hadn’t been responding to Poe’s calls and when Poe had turned around to look for him, the boy wasn’t in the seat behind.

Panicked, Poe had hauled himself from that wreckage, he’d called Finn’s name until his voice was raw. But not a single sign of Finn appeared. Poe cursed himself for his clumsiness. He should have prevented this, should have… _done_ something.

Finn had finally been free of the tyranny of the First Order and now… _You don’t just meet your soulmate and then crash them into a nearby planet, Poe, no, only heartless people do that._ Poe was not heartless.

He kept a tight hold on his hope as he made his way through the sand and heat. But it was no use. Not long into the day, he found the small dwellings of life by a large water hole. Poe asked around as gently and discreetly as he could, knowing hostility would be high. These people were bound to blame the Resistance for the First Order’s presence looming over their planet.

After a while of no one knowing anything about a ship crashing nearby or a man in white armour having shown up, someone finally mentioned seeing what sounded like Poe’s ship crashing on the horizon, and that whilst it fell another piece had broken away and hurtled towards the ground.

Poe didn’t really know how he was supposed to feel in this moment. If he was even allowed to feel sad, in fact, he’d only known Finn for a few minutes after all and yet…

Finn had been his _soulmate_.

Life would go on, unfortunately. There was still a mission to complete and that would be something to take Poe’s mind of this whole strange occurrence. However, for now, he’d have to call it a day, the second he was able to of course. Poe signalled home after a good rest and a difficultly bargained meal. He waited dejectedly for the Resistance ship to come pick him up. Plus Poe finally realised, somewhere along the way, he’d also managed to lose his favourite jacket that had been with him since the beginning of Resistance career. Another thing to disrupt his mood.

In a universe where soulmates don’t exist, he’d finally discovered his and now they were dead.

Poe returned to his home back at the Resistance main base on D’Qar and a day went past. After a much needed shower, he glanced around his small sanctioned apartment. It’d never felt so spacious in his life. It was stupid and pointless but Poe imagined sharing his apartment with Finn, perhaps laughing, eating, getting to know each other. In the hours that followed he imagined sharing a lot of things with Finn.

Then barely five minutes into the next day, they received a message from one of their sources on Takodana in the cantina owned by Maz Kanata. The message said a droid with the appearance of BB-8 had been spotted. Poe didn’t need to be told twice. He manned the first X-Wing crew heading out to answer the call. If he got BB-8 back and completed his mission, at least then Finn wouldn’t have died in vain.

When they arrived, it appeared to be in just the nick of time. Poe had to shot free some First Order prisoners who looked to be on their execution knees. The battle was brisk and easy in a way that made it almost fun and Poe got in a few shots that were worthy of an excited cheer. For a few hasty minutes, it took his mind off Finn.

They won the battle in no time at all and travelled back to D’Qar with their companions. They’d apparently saved the General’s old flame, Han Solo. Poe would have recognised the Millennium Falcon anywhere. He made a mental note to tell the General later that at least she would be with her soulmate, not that when he informed her of Finn, he’d mentioned Finn was his soulmate.

Then, safe-and-soundly landed, Poe was barely three seconds off his ship when the familiar sound of beeping rolled its way over to him.

BB-8! It really had been them who’d been spotted. Poe rushed to their side and they greeted each other with mutual enthusiasm. Hope resurfaced because Finn’s death could mean something now.

But suddenly BB-8 talked of being helped by a young woman and _a young man_ who sounded immensely like Finn. _Could it be?_ Hope racing, Poe’s heart leapt into his mouth and then BB-8 was exclaiming that Finn had been on the Millennium Falcon with them. That he was in fact just over there even.

Sure enough, Poe looked up and as clear day there Finn was, standing across the X-Wing landing bay. He appeared to looking over at Poe with just as much anticipation of their reunion. Or maybe the hope was getting to him too much.

Poe instantly made his way over to him and they embraced in a tight hug. This was all Poe could have hoped for, he didn’t deserved to be smiled upon in such a way, surely. Just like from before that odd familiarity returned with sweet zeal. Poe let it wash over him without resistance. Babbling on to Finn about his mission and how Finn had saved BB-8, it was a few seconds before he processed that Finn was wearing his jacket. The one he thought he’d lost when they crashed on Jakku.

‘That’s my jacket. No, no. Keep it, it suits you.’

It seemed only right that Finn do so. Poe never thought he’d see it again, just like Finn.

‘You’re a good man, Finn.’ Poe stared at him and there was a part of him which still couldn’t believe he was real. Warmth spread through Poe’s skin and delve deep into his bones. His soul was content. It was all so new, these sensations but Poe felt _okay_.

In a universe where soulmates don’t exist, he’d found his. Finn was still alive and here, and for now everything was okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on [tumblr](http://yellowhalcyon.tumblr.com/)


End file.
